Southwestern Taco Pot Pie

Matt emailed this recipe to me a couple weeks ago, and I finally was home long enough to try it out. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it had a good flavor and was fast and easy. Give it a try!
Southwestern Taco Pot Pie

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1.25-ounce) package Taco Seasoning Mix
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 (1-pound) package frozen green, red and yellow peppers and onions*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (11-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheese recommended: Colby/Monterrey blend or Mexican blend

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water; mix until ground beef is well coated.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat until hot. Add peppers and onions; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Add garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, corn, and salsa, stir well and set aside.

Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie using 9-inch glass or metal pie pan.

Combine salsa and corn mixture with ground beef; mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese evenly in bottom of crust-lined pan. Spread 1/2 of beef mixture evenly in pan over cheese, pat down. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese in pan and spread evenly with remaining beef mixture, pat down, top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Top with second crust and flute; slit in several places.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil or a pie crust shield after 15 minutes of baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of taco sauce. Also recommended: guacamole, salsa, and diced green chilies.

* If using fresh peppers and onions, use 1 1/2 cups chopped onions and 2 1/2 cups chopped peppers and increase prep time and stove top cooking time. I personally used fresh, I always think fresh is better!! Although I did go with the store bought pie crust!

Cafe Rio

I've only had Cafe Rio once in my life, and I can't even remember how it tasted. One day Matt googled the sweet pork and wanted to try it. We made the pork and rice and thought it was pretty good. I then looked up and saw all the other recipes. It is so much better with all of it. Especially the dressing...it might look gross in the picture, but it is oh so good!! I've read that you can have it as a salad too, but the one time I went to try it, I couldn't resist the burrito!! Hope you try it and love it as much as our family does!
Cafe Rio Pork

5-6 lb Pork Roast

1 Tbls Cumin

1 Cup Brown Sugar

12 oz. La Victoria Taco Sauce (Red)

20 oz. Coke or Dr Pepper

Put pork in crock pot and fill half way with water. Cook 4 hours on high. Drain water, cut the pork in thirds. Mix together sauce and pour on top of pork. Cook another 4 hours on low. Shred the pork. (I usually only use 3 lb pork and it's still great. Also you might want more brown sugar, taste for your own preference.)

Cilantro Lime Rice

In a saucepan, saute:

2 Tbsp Butter

1 Onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot, bring to a boil:

6 2/3 cups water

8 tsp chicken bullion

1/2 bunch Cilantro, chopped

2 tsp Cumin

2 sm cans Diced Green Chilies

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

1/2 tsp pepper

3 1/2 cups Rice

Saute onion, garlic with the butter until the onion is soft. Add rice and water and all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for about 20 minutes. (This makes a ton of rice, you can half the recipe if you'd like.)

Black Beans

4 Tbsp. Olive Oil

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Cumin

2 cans Black beans, rinsed and drained

2 2/3 cups tomato juice

3 tsp Salt

4 Tbsp. chopped Cilantro

in a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (I personally think it is too much salt, so you might want to do less and try it.)

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

1 cup Sour Cream

1 envelope Ranch salad dressing

1 1/2 envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad dressing

6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice from 2 limes, freshly squeezed

1 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a blender (put the liquieds in first) and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

'Nothing Bundt Cake'

This is the homemade version of a Nothing Bundt Cake. It's a great bakery that specializes in, um....bundt cakes :). Check out the link and see their website, they have some yummy sounding cakes and serve them very cute. Now I want to copy all the flavors! Anyway, we love them so much we make my mom lug one on the plane as her carry on when she comes to visit. I looked around online last night and found this version and it's extremely close to the real thing. If you love chocolate, this cake is for you!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake

1 pkg. devils food cake, German chocolate cake, or chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 c. sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
3-4 c. powdered sugar (or more)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bunt cake pan (cooking spray works best, my cake just fell out of the pan). Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 mins. Remove from pan. (you can wrap it well in Saran Wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting and serving, this is the kind of cake that tastes better the next day) In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. I added the full 4 cups because to frost it like they do, you want the frosting pretty thick. It made a ton though, enough to cover 2 cakes so it next time I would cut the frosting recipe in half. I also used a gallon ziploc bag with a corner cut off to pipe it on and that added more frosting that necessary. After we were finished we all felt like death by bundt cake. But it was death by cake in a good way!

(Thanks for the photos Marion!)

Best Ever Buttermilk Pancakes

While vacationing with Hubby's family in Chelan in August, my
sister-on-law, Diane, made these pancakes with huckleberries.
We had picked blueberries while we were there so when we came
home I made some blueberry pancakes. I don't think I can go back
to good old Krusteaz any longer. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Makes nine 6-inch pancakes (I get more than 9)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Directions:
Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Cracked Pepper Salad Dressing

This has become my new favorite dressing. I have to admit to a very bad habit....I like to dip croutons in it for a snack! Oh, is it a good snack! You can guess why....buttery Costco croutons with fattening, smooth dressing! Heaven!!!! If you don't want it as peppery as the recipe calls for you could scale the pepper down. Here's the recipe.....

Ingredients:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped green onion
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients until blended. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. May be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Yield: 2-1/2 cups.

Scones with Buttermilk Syrup

Ok, so I haven't actually tried these scones with their buttermilk syrup but I really want to, does that count? I've read about them on a few different blogs and I keep forgetting about them. That is until Marion made scones on Sun, then I remembered all about it. I'm putting it on here so I know where the recipe is and so at least ONE of us tries it. It's a conference tradition on one of my friend's blog. Maybe I'll try it this weekend.....

Scones
(Or use your own bread/scone recipe)
3 Tbsp yeast
4 cups warm water
4 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp oil
About 9 cups flour

Dissolve the yeast, water and sugar together and let stand 5 minutes until foamy. Add the salt and oil, then the flour one cup at a time. Mix well and let dough rise for 30 minutes before frying. Roll the dough out into a very large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Cut into small squares and fry in hot oil until they are golden brown.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cube butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together the sugar, butter, buttermilk, corn syrup and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla (it foams up and goes down after a few minutes). Serve over warm scones.